4.2.3 Human resources

High quality human resources represent the principal precondition for a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly operation of nuclear installations. „High quality of human resources“ are understood as a set of professional, health-related and mental capacities of the staff to perform working activities at nuclear installations. From the aspect of working activities and their impacts on nuclear safety, NPP staff are classified into two basic groups:

• employees which have direct impact on nuclear safety - selected employees whose special professional competence has been verified (theoretical , written and oral exam and practical examination) by an examining commission established by ÚJD, and to whom a Special Professional Competence Certificate was issued Special,
• employees with impact on nuclear safety - professionally competent employees whose professional competence has been verified by an examination commission established by authorized specialized facility, by written and oral examination, and to whom a Professional Competence authorization was issued .

Pursuant to Act No.130/1998 Coll.LL. on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, special competence of employees means a set of professional knowledge, skills, practical experience, knowledge of the generally binding regulations and regulations issued by operator that represent a nuclear safety-related precondition to secure safe operation of NI, to prevent uncontrolled fission chain reaction, to prevent of not allowed discharge of radioactive substances or ionizing radiation into the working environment or into the general environment, and to minimize the consequences of accidents and incidents.

Professional competence of staff means a set of knowledge and skills, attitudes and habits required to be allowed to perform certain activities/works, as verified by authorized body.

The liability for the overall working (professional, health-related and mental) competencies of the staff to perform working activities at nuclear installations remains with the operator. Operator appoints only employees competent to work, and to perform working activities. To every selected and professionally competent employee is issued „Authorization to Perform Corresponding Working Activities“ as part of the nuclear facility quality assurance. The authorization to perform working activities is issued for positions of selected employees with valid certificates of special professional competence for a given type of NI and for positions of professionally competent employees holders of authorizations for the given NI. The authorization represents a document evidencing the working competence of the employee with respect to regulatory bodies.

The organizational structure contains defined requirements with respect to working competencies to perform working activities for every position, i.e. education, professional, health-related and/or mental capacities and the prescribed types of training. The immediate supervisor of the employee is responsible for meeting of these requirements.

Training - acquisition and maintenance - as well as development of working competencies of the employees (knowledge, skills and attitudes) is managed at the individual NI by „Human Resources Training“ departments according to adopted and regulator-approved System of Staff Training.

The NI System of Staff Training is maintained and improved based on operating experience, organizational changes undertaken, technical solutions (upgrading) of facility, requirements of regulatory bodies, audits, IAEA reviews and recommendations. It is backed by the necessary human, financial and material resources.

The training of the staff and third persons (third persons represent contractors ) is being provided in accordance with documents of quality assurance programme set up and maintained in accordance with:

• generally binding legal regulations applicable in the Slovak Republic,
• IAEA regulations, recommendations and guidelines,
• STN EN ISO 9001:1996 and 14001:1996 series standards,
• documentation of management within SE, a.s.´s Quality System.

With respect to the quality assurance system, the top document for the entire area of human resources is represented by the „Concept of SE, a.s.´s Human Resources Management“ with management documentation for human resources management developed based on it, including staff and management training and development at the SE, a.s.´s headquarters and at the individual NI.

The management documents set procedures and responsibilities for:

• selection and allocation of employees for positions,
• determination of the content and extent of training, education and development of the staff,
• acquisition, maintenance and improvement of qualification - professional competence of the staff,
• staff development,
• acquisition and maintenance by third persons of general competencies,
• staff re-training.

Fig. 4.2.3. illustrates the system of staff training in place.

With respect to their allocation to basic training, employees are divided according to activities performed by them into six categories that are further subdivided into occupational groups and subgroups according to the occupational orientation:

category 1 - specified are employees with university diploma who perform working activities with direct impact on nuclear safety (primary circuit operator, reactor secondary circuit operator, head of reactor unit , shift supervisor , reactor physicist, etc.). Their professional competence is verified by an examination before a commission established by ÚJD that issues them Certificate of Special Professional Competence. The certificate is valid for two years. Prior to the elapsing of this period of time, the employee has to repeatedly pass the exam before ÚJD´s examination commission in full extent, to have his/her Certificate renewed for an additional period of two years.

category 2 - technical and economical staff of operating, maintenance and technical departments with university diploma or secondary education completed - they comprise heads of sections, departments, divisions, head masters, masters as well as employees involved in operation or maintenance of equipment.

category 3 - operating shift and operating staff, including employees involved in operating activities at technological equipment.

category 4 - employees involved in maintenance (with the exception of engineers) - employees involved in maintenance activities at technological equipment.

category 5 - employees in charge of NI decommissioning and handling RAW and spent nuclear fuel.

category 6 - other employees .

Employees on positions hierarchically superior to specified employees, such as vice-director for operations, chief engineer, head of operation control department, head of nuclear safety department, and head of reactor physics department, must hold university diploma in the field of technology / natural sciences - physics, and must have their special professional competence verified, no further verification of the competence is required.

Facilities for staff training

The basic training for NI staff as well as those of organisations performing special activities at NI is running at specialized training centers that are holders of authorizations to perform specialized professional training of NI staff granted by ÚJD upon such organisations meeting technical conditions and having verified the professional competence of their employees performing the training. The professional training is delivered in accordance with approved training programs.

Training delivery  

1. Introductory briefing and training of employees are delivered by the individual NI.
2. Basic training:
   • basic briefing and training - repeated Category I training,
   • Category I re-training,
   • general training of third persons,

are delivered by specialized training establishment, holder of the corresponding authorization for such activities. VÚJE delivers basic and theoretical training, basic and repeated simulator-based training of nuclear installation staff (with the exception of SE-EMO), while the individual nuclear power plants delivering stays, in-service training and periodical professional training of the staff.

Simulator training is delivered:

• at multi functional the full-scope WWER-440/V 213 simulator for SE-EMO, that emulates all standard and non-standard operating states of the nuclear power plant. The training equipment is a true replica of the NPP Mochovce unit 1 control room. It was built in accordance with the most recent US standards for staff training and technical safeguards by the companies S3 Technology and Sidemen’s in cooperation with SE, a.s. experts,
• at the multi functional and full-scope WWER-440/V 213 simulator for SE-EBO, units 3 and 4 at VÚJE,
• at multi-functional and full-scope WWER-440/V-230 simulator for SE-EBO, units 1 and 2 at VÚJE. A multifunctional simulator for WWER-440/V-230 units developed under PHARE-TACIS project by Corys-TESS, Siemens, Belgatom, Thomson and other subcontractors was commissioned in February 1998. Also, a full-range simulator has been in operation since 14 May, 2001.

3. Other types of training (training of welders, NDT etc.) are delivered by various training establishments or directly at NI operators, including SE-EBO, SE-EMO, SE-VYZ by internal or external lecturers.

Training programs:

Basic training (theoretical training, simulator training, on-the job training) as well as periodical trainings of staff for the performance of nuclear safety relevant working activities at specialized establishments are delivered according to ÚJD approved programs based on suggestions of specialized establishments authorized to train specified employees.

Training programs have been developed for every category, professional group and subgroup of employees separately while accounting for types and stages of training. These set the objectives, content, duration of training, forms of learning and method of verifying upon knowledge.

An important element with respect to qualification upgrading of the employees has been cooperation with universities, in particular in the form of postgraduate and distance studies at the Slovak Technical University, University of Economics, and Commenius University, Bratislava.

Fig. 4.2.3 Stages, content and forms of training for specified employees